Muslim firefighter gets coronavirus after Hasidic teen allegedly sneezed into his face
A Muslim FDNY firefighter — whose father is a convicted terrorist — tested positive for coronavirus nine days after three Hasidic teens in Borough Park deliberately sneezed on him, sources told The Post.
The alleged sneeze assault on Omar Sattar, 33, is described in a letter, obtained by The Post, from Lt. Kasey Koslowski of Engine Co. 282 to Thomas Richardson, the Department’s Chief of Operations.
While the engine company responded to a call at 47th Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway, one firefighter — whose name is blacked out but was identified by sources as Sattar — was inspecting a hydrant when he was approached by “three Hasidic Jewish teens.”
The trio “taunted him and asked him if he was afraid of the coronavirus,” the letter says.
“After repeated attempts to keep distance from the boys, one of them sneezed into his face and they ran off,” it says.
The firefighter started experiencing flu-like symptoms four days after the “unusual occurrence,” the letter says. He was subsequently tested for coronavirus and placed on medical leave March 24 while awaiting the results. The test came back positive on March 27.
“Although we will not be able to tell if this positive COVID-19 test result is a direct outcome of the previous incident, what we do know is the continued lack of disregard by the citizens of [Borough]Park for the state of emergency policy,” the letter reads.
It adds, “In a time when personal space and social distancing is at an all-time high, it is going to take a cumulative effort from everyone to defeat this virus, including the residents of [Borough] Park.”
Koslowski could not be reached for comment. The NYPD did not return a request for information. Sattar did not respond to messages.
The FDNY dismissed the letter as “not official.”
“We cannot comment on the veracity of the report,” spokesman Jim Long said.
But former Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who is Orthodox, said the incident as described is “sick and outrageous.”
Rahman Sattar (right), the father of Omar SattarAP Photo/Mike Albans, File
He denounced “a minority” in the religious community who are thumbing their noses at social-distancing guidelines amid the deadly pandemic.
He noted that throngs of Hasidic Jews gathered in Brooklyn Wednesday for a rabbi’s funeral.
“What the hell is wrong with these people?” Hikind asked, adding that Brooklyn funeral homes catering to the Jewish community have been “overwhelmed” with bodies.
As of Saturday, 426 FDNY members, including EMS, firefighters and civilians, are out sick with confirmed COVID-19 infections, Long said. The total 3,000 on medical leave includes others believed to have the virus, he added.
Sattar graduated from the Fire Academy in October 2017. He is the eldest son of Ahmed Abdel Sattar, who was convicted in 2005 of “soliciting crimes of violence” and conspiracy to murder Jews.
In a statement to The Post at the time, Sattar said, “This is what I have always wanted to do. This is who I have always wanted to be. I have always admired firefighters.”
Omar’s dad, now 60, appeared to be a mild-mannered postal-service worker living peacefully in Staten Island. The court found he was an Islamist extremist who used his home as a communications hub to further the schemes of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Muslim cleric who masterminded the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which killed six.
A Manhattan Federal Court judge sentenced Ahmed Sattar to 24 years in prison.
